UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS SPRING 2016 RTVF 4415: CINEMA BEYOND THE WEST Wednesdays 10-1:20pm, RTVF Room 264 Instructor: Tania Khalaf Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday 7:50-8:20PM, or by appointment, Office - Room 218 Teaching Assistant: Ryan Collins Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:20pm - 2:00pm

Course Overview

The course is designed to explore the various forms and styles of contemporary world cinema. We discuss international storytelling in terms of style, approach, and cultural context. The objective of the class is to familiarize students with the different ideologies of foreign narratives that explore diverse subject matter, issues, and conflicts. The historical development of cinema is examined in specific countries while considering its political and social influences up through present day. The emphasis during class sessions will be on screenings and analytical discussions. Students are also expected to research areas of interest outside of class.

SPECIAL NOTE:

We will be discussing various issues concerning gender, race and politics. If you feel you will have any problems participating in such discussions, I seriously suggest you reevaluate choosing this course.

Required Reading:

Chaudhuri, Shohini. CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA: EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, EAST ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA. Edinburgh University Press, 2005

Other materials distributed in class become part of the required readings.

Recommended Reading:

Nichols, Bill. ENGAGING CINEMA. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Attendance Policy:

Since this class only meets once a week, one session is the equivalent of 2 normal class meetings. For each unexcused absence beyond one, three points will be deducted from the final grade. Arriving 15 minutes after the scheduled starting time for the class will be considered a late arrival. Two late arrivals will result in one absence. Do not leave after the break; we will be taking attendance after the break as well.

For each day, a paper is turned in late; 4 points will be deducted from the grade.

Students not attending the first day of class will be dropped to make room for other students who are present and want to enroll in this class. If you decide to drop this class during the semester, make sure you look at the university’s policies regarding specific deadlines.

Assignments:

1. Three response papers covering documentaries screened in class.

2. One take home midterm examination covering the screenings, readings and lectures from January 20.

3. One take home final examination covering your group’s presentation and screening.

Details for those assignments will follow in a separate handout.

Grade Breakdown:

Participation 10% Response Papers 15% Midterm Paper 25% Presentation 25% Final Paper 25%

Note: RTVF Classes work with the Office of Disability Accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students. If you have special needs, please register with the ODA and present me with a written copy of your Accommodation Request as soon as possible.

The schedule for screenings, lectures and due dates is subject to revision

Week 1 (January 20)

Introduction to the course

Screening: Amreeka by Cherien Dabis

Week 2 (January 27)

CINEMA OF IRAN Screening: Children of Heaven by Majid Majidi

Readings: Contemporary World Cinema by Shohini Chaudhuri • Introduction p.1- p.13 • Chapter 4: Iranian Cinema p.71 – p.92

New Iranian Cinema : Politics, Representation and Identity edited by Richard Tapper • Chapter 1: Introduction – Richard Tapper • Chapter 10: Location (Physical Space) and Cultural Identity in Iranian Films - Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa • Chapter 12: Children in Contemporary Iranian Cinema: When we were Children - Hamid Reza Sadr

Iranian cinema and philosophy: shooting truth by Erfani Farhang • Introduction • Chapter 1: How Orphans Believe: Deleuze, National Cinema, and Majidi's The Color of Paradise • Chapter 3: Committed Perception: Merleau-Ponty and Children of Heaven

Week 3 (February 3)

CINEMA OF IRAN Screening: Turtles Can Fly by Bahman Ghobadi

Readings: Iranian cinema and philosophy: shooting truth by Erfani Farhang • Chapter 6: Deafening Silence: Bahman Ghobadi's Turtles Can Fly and Marginal Politics

Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Series: Film and Risk edited by Mette Hjort • Chapter 7: Accented and Risk Taking in the Age of Postcolonial Militancy, Terrorism, Globalization, Wars, Oppression, and Occupation

Week 4 (February 10)

CINEMA OF SOUTH KOREA Screening: Madŏ/Mother by Joon-ho Bong

Contemporary World Cinema by Shohini Chaudhuri • Chapter 5: East Asian Cinema p.93 – p.114

Week 5 (February 17)

CINEMA OF ITALY Screening: Twice Born by Sergio Castellito

Week 6 (February 24)

CINEMA OF PALESTINE Screening: Paradise Now by Hany Abu-Assad

Reading: Contemporary World Cinema by Shohini Chaudhuri • Chapter 3: Middle Eastern Cinema p.54 – p.70

OR

Screening: The Time That Remains by Elia Suleiman

Readings: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Winter, 2000), pp. 95-101 A Cinema of Nowhere: An Interview with Elia Suleiman

Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Winter 2003), pp. 63-73 The Occupation (and Life) through an Absurdist Lens: An Interview with Elia Suleiman

Film Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Fall 2010), pp. 38-45 Sad Times: An Interview with Elia Suleiman - Rob White

Contemporary World Cinema by Shohini Chaudhuri • Chapter 3: Middle Eastern Cinema p.54 – p. 70

- Distribution of the Midterm -

Week 7 (March 2)

CINEMA OF LEBANON Screening: Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki

Reading: Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity by Viola Shafik • 5 Arab Cinema today: a postscript

Week 8 (March 9)

CINEMA OF MOROCCO Screening: Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets by Nabil Ayouch

- Midterm Paper Due at the beginning of class –

Week 9 (March 16)

Spring Break

Week 10 (March 23)

CINEMA OF SOUTH AFRICA Screening: Life, Above All by Oliver Schmitz OR

Screening: by Gavin Hood

Week 11 (March 30)

CINEMA OF MAURITANIA Screening: Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako

Week 12 (April 6)

CINEMA OF SPAIN/MEXICO Screening: Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro

Week 13 (April 13)

CINEMA OF RUSSIA Screening: Rusalka by Anna Melikyan

Week 14 (April 20)

CINEMA OF ARGENTINA Screening: The Motorcycle Diaries by Walter Salles

Week 15 (April 27)

CINEMA OF JAPAN Screening: Yojimbo by

Week 16 (May 4)

CINEMA OF CHINA Screening: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by

Week 17 (May 11)

Final Paper Due at 10:00am